- August 6, 2026
- in General Safety Cover, Uncategorized
- by Tim Cassidy
- 246
- 0
There are some companies in the pool industry that claim there’s an easy way to replace your pool safety cover.
It’s where you take your old cover and ship it in a box to the manufacturer and then receive a bright, shiny new one delivered to your door.
These “ship in a box” programs have a number of different industry names:
- Template Replacement Covers
- Pool Cover Duplication
- Copy-cat Pool Cover
- Anchor-Matching Replacement Covers
You simply take the box they send you, put your current pool cover in it and ship it back (at their expense). Then, they will remeasure it and send you a new pool cover! You don’t pay the shipping and they do all the measuring for you. That can sound great at first… especially from the comfort of your air conditioned home, sitting on your favorite couch.
It certainly works for the manufacturer, since they control everything and make money on your purchase.
But, is it really the best way for YOU to replace your pool cover?
The Challenges and Risks of Pool Cover Duplication
Once you consider the risks and challenges of doing these “Duplication” programs, then you can make a more informed decision on whether or not it’s right for you.
The Challenges of Shipping Your Pool Cover in a Box
It’s sounds pretty simple at first… just throw my cover in a box they provide me and ship it to them on their dime! But, let’s think through what that actually looks like.
Here are the challenges you will go through to ship your pool cover to the Manufacturer:
1. You have to clean your cover before shipping it
You may have initially thought it would only require taking that heavy, wet and dirty cover off of your pool, or out of storage, and chucking it in a box. Well… it’s not that simple. You have to pull that heavy thing out, lay it out flat and then clean it off! That means, dirt, debris, mold, etc. All cleaned off by you. Both sides.
If it shows up dirty and smelling, the Manufacturer will decline measuring it for you and you will be forced to spend the money to get it back to you.
2. It has to be dried out before shipping
Now that it’s clean, you have to lay it out flat and hope it’s not a week with rain in the forecast. If it’s a sunny week, you have to dry out both sides. The Manufacturer can’t take a chance on bringing in mold and bacteria into their manufacturing plant. So you have to have these clean AND dry before shipping.
These large covers are a pain to move around and adjust. After the hassles of cleaning, you now have to lay it flat and expose both sides to dry … while hoping for favorable weather.
3. All of the springs have to be removed:
That’s right, every spring has to be physically taken off the cover by you, before shipping. It’s tedious, time-consuming and done from an awkward bending over position that will put stress on your knees and lower back.
4. It’s not easy to fit the cover inside the box:
Now you have to fold up this huge, heavy, wonky pool cover into a neat little position to get it inside a 24” x 24” x 42” box (typical size they send). If it doesn’t fit, you have to unfold it and try another way to get it to fit. It’s very frustrating, time-consuming and physically draining.
5. You have to ship this huge and heavy box
Now you have what UPS considers an official “Heavy Package” weighing over 70 lbs. So it needs special yellow tape applied to it to warn the UPS employees that it’s so heavy… they need to handle with care, or use 2 people to move it, so it doesn’t cause an injury. However, it’s up to you to get it to the UPS store by yourself. Hope you’re in shape! Lifting and loading a 70+ pound box into your car, taking the time to drive it to the UPS store, unloading it, getting inside the store (hoping someone holds the door for you) and then standing in line to ship it back… well it’s quite an ordeal!
The Risks of Shipping Your Pool Cover in a Box
All of these challenges are painful. But, they mostly evolve around your own frustrations and lost hours spent having to work for the manufacturer to get an easy sale.
However, it’s not just about the time and effort you put in. There are also actual risks with going this route.
1. You end up stuck with that Manufacturer
Once you ship your cover to the Manufacturer, you don’t really have much recourse. If they are rude, end up charging you far more than you thought, etc., there’s not much you can do. If you ask them to return it, you pay the shipping charges. Figure about $300-$400 to ship a box of this size and weight. It also won’t be done in a timely manner. So, now you’ve lost time and money, but you still have to go through the whole shipping process again… only to feel stuck with the second Manufacturer now.
It can feel like the scene in the movie “Vacation” where Chevy Chase was forced to get his car fixed at the only vendor in town:
2. You may end up with a bad fitting pool cover:
While copying a cover sounds like a guarantee it will fit properly… it’s really not. Covers weather over time, which can result in shrinkage and also stretching. So, different areas of your cover will have “warped”. So they can end up measuring something that no longer “fits like a glove” to your pool. You’re always better off measuring your actual pool, rather than an old, weathered pool cover.
3. There is risk of complete loss of your pool cover:
Although it doesn’t happen frequently, there is a risk (and especially with overweight boxes) that the carrier damages and/or loses your box during shipment.
With thousands of shipments daily, sometimes employees get confused and just make mistakes… and packages can end up being lost.
But what typically happens in the logistics world… is your box gets damaged to a point where they cannot keep forwarding it through the system. So, it ends up being “lost”. In other words, discarded.
Now, you have no pool cover at all…
If you try to encourage yourself that you paid extra for shipping insurance, realize that you have to pay to have the driver come to your home and sign the insurance form and physically give you a copy. If not, even if you can prove you paid extra for insurance, you will not be reimbursed.
4. You are unprotected while your pool cover is gone:
By default, if you send your pool cover somewhere else… there is nothing protecting your pool. That opens you up to liability. It’s always safer to ensure neighbors children or pets will be safe, if they make their way onto your property.
Your Pool Cover Can Fit Perfectly Without Shipping It In A Box
Customers use us to avoid this “Ship my pool cover in a box” program. Instead of going through all these hassles and risks associated with shipping your cover, they contact us for a better alternative.
You can measure your own pool, using our technology and free support. There are many benefits to measuring your own pool. Find out what they are here.
We’re always open to talking with you about your pool cover too. We offer free support and guidance.
